Malaysia Bourse Due For Support On Tuesday

The Malaysia stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 10 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,455-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares and plantation stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 3.75 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 1,456.92 after trading between 1,454.12 and 1,460.26.

Among the actives, Axiata rallied 1.24 percent, while Celcomdigi advanced 0.94 percent, CIMB Group dropped 0.52 percent, Dialog Group and Public Bank both sank 0.47 percent, Genting Malaysia gained 0.39 percent, IOI Corporation declined 1.25 percent, Maxis added 0.74 percent, Maybank fell 0.11 percent, MISC tumbled 1.62 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.26 percent, Petronas Chemicals lost 0.23 percent, PPB Group retreated 1.49 percent, Press Metal slumped 1.02 percent, Sime Darby plunged 2.46 percent, Sime Darby Plantations, Telekom Malaysia skidded 0.57 percent, Tenaga Nasional rose 0.10 percent, Westports Holdings tanked 1.99 percent and Genting, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, IHH Healthcare and RHB Capital were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened modestly higher on Monday but accelerated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 203.76 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 35,151.04, while the NASDAQ rallied 159.05 points or 1.13 percent to close at 14,284.53 and the S&P 500 gained 33.36 points or 0.74 percent to end at 4,547.38.

The strength on Wall Street reflected recent upward momentum, which comes amid ongoing optimism about the outlook for interest rates. Recent data showing signs of easing inflation has reinforced investor expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged at upcoming meetings.

Stocks saw further upside in afternoon trading as treasury yields pulled back following the release of the results of the Treasury Department’s auction of $16 billion worth of 20-year bonds.

In economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in October.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Monday amid expectations that OPEC will further extend its voluntary output cuts next week, while the dollar’s weakness also contributed to the jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended higher by $1.79 or 2.4 percent at $77.83 a barrel.